SUNY Potsdam softball team wins pair; SLU laxmen outlast SUNY Geneseo

TITUSVILLE, FL – The SUNY Potsdam softball team (5-1) continued its hot streak in Florida with two more victories over SUNY Purchase and Elgin College (IL) Tuesday morning.

The game against Elgin was played as an exhibition contest.

The Bears squared off against a fellow New York team in the first contest of the day. Potsdam would use three homeruns by junior Megan Johnson (Heuvelton, N.Y.) and freshman Alexis Lerman (Fayetteville, N.Y.) to earn the 5-3 win. Freshman Jordan Sarat (Caledonia, N.Y.) added a solid day on the mound and recorded her first NCAA victory. Junior Brittany Thivierge (Schuylerville, N.Y.) got the ball rolling for Potsdam in the first inning with a single to right field, driving in junior Ashley Thayer (Winthrop, N.Y.). Yet, Purchase would answer with a homerun in the bottom of the inning to claim a 2-1 lead. M. Johnson opened up the tightly contest game in the second inning with a two run shot over the left center fence. Again the Panthers responded with another homer to tie the game at 3-3. Lerman followed in the fourth inning with a blast down the left line and over the wall to give the Bears a 4-3 edge. M. Johnson stepped up one more time in the sixth inning, driving another ball over the outfield fence to notch her second homerun of the contest and secured the Bearswin.

Megan Johnson finished the game going a perfect two for two at the plate with three RBI. Lerman added a two for three performance with one RBI. Sarat allowed five hits in six innings of play and recorded six strikeouts. Johnson also earned the save in relief for Sarat.

In the second game, Potsdam concluded their sweep of Elgin College by a score of 8-4. After a scoreless first inning, sophomore Carissa Cornwell (Homer, N.Y.) put the Bears on top in the second with a single to center field bringing in junior Khalshia White (Saint Regis Falls, N.Y.). However, Elgin would notch two runs in the next two innings to take a 2-1 lead. The game was closely contested until the sixth inning. Potsdam would find their groove in the batters box with a host of Bears finding solid contact with the ball. After the dust had settled, Potsdam would claim an 8-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Spartans attempted to make a charge but Thayer and company denied Elgin of the chance.

Cornwell led the Bears, going two for three with two RBI. Thayer allowed eight hits in seven innings pitched and tallied six strikeouts.

Potsdam returns to the diamond this morning as they take on Prairie State in a doubleheader starting at 9 a.m.

SLU LAXMEN OUTLAST GENESEO

The St. Lawrence University mens lacrosse team won its second straight game on Tuesday afternoon, as the Saints topped Geneseo by the score of 9-7 in Geneseo. The Saints were led by senior Mac Johnson and rookie Jeremy Vautour, who each recorded a hat trick in the win.

St. Lawrence (4-3, 1-0) opened up a six-goal lead at 9-3 late the fourth quarter before Geneseo made a late run to pull within two. Jack Nuland continued his impressive play in net for the Saints with a 13-save performance, as his team was outshot 30-27 in the game. St. Lawrence won 9-of-20 face-offs, successfully completed 15-of-16 clears and held a narrow 31-30 edge in ground balls.

Though Geneseo struck first on a goal by Tim Burgess, the Saints rattled off five straight goals in the first half to take a 5-1 lead. Co-captain Davey Hovey, Vautour and Cam Scullen scored in a span of 4:04 to cap the first half scoring at 3-1, while Johnson scored consecutive goals only 1:30 apart in the second quarter for a 5-1 lead. Brad Willows capped the opening half scoring for Geneseo to keep the home team in the game down three at intermission, 5-2.

Vautour, the reigning Liberty League Rookie of the Week, scored both St. Lawrence goals in the third quarter to extend the advantage to 7-3 with 15:00 minutes remaining. Johnson and Garrett Gagne would keep the momentum in the Saints corner in the fourth quarter, scoring goals for a 9-3 lead with only 5:51 remaining.

Geneseo would score three goals in a span of 1:32 to make it a game, as John Felix, Kyle Johnson and Andre Keating sparked the run to get the Blue Knights within three at 9-6. However, Nuland and the St. Lawrence defense would keep the home team off the board until the final minute, as Steve Cregan scored the final goal with :56 seconds remaining for the Knights who fell two goals shy of the comeback.

Gagne added a pair of assists for the Saints, while Hovey and Alden Frelinghuysen each added one. Ryan Zaremba made four saves in the loss for Geneseo, and Tim Burgess had a game-high nine ground balls for the home team. Scullen led St. Lawrence with three ground balls.

St. Lawrence will be in action again this Saturdaywhen it hosts nationally-ranked No. 17 Union College in a Liberty League contest at noon at Hall-Leet Stadium.

POTSDAM LAXWOMEN PREVAIL

Emily Petit scored an unassisted goal with 50 seconds left to lead the Bears (1-3) past Southern Maine in a nonconference game in Clermont, Fla.

Whitney Boshart and Denise Johns each scored four goals with one assist to lead SUNY Potsdam. Petit finished with three goals.

The St. Lawrence University womens lacrosse team dropped its final non-conference game of the season on Tuesday, as nationally-ranked No. 19 Geneseo earned a 16-7 win over the Saints in Geneseo, NY. Senior co-captains Stephanie ORourke and Brigid Hurley each had a pair of goals for the Scarlet and Brown in the loss.

The Blue Knights (5-1) were led by Katey Harts five goals. Emily Haggerty added a hat trick for the home team, which closed with a 35-16 advantage in shots including a thorough 21-5 performance in the first half. The Saints fall to 4-3 after committing 27 turnovers en route to a six-goal halftime deficit.

Sophomore goaltender Adden Cunningham made nine saves in suffering the loss for St. Lawrence, while rookie Greta White made three saves in relief during the second half. Geneseos Julie Bernatzky made six stops to earn the win for the Blue Knights.

The Saints will open a three-game home stand this weekend as the 2013 Liberty League season gets underway. St. Lawrence will host Rensselaer and Skidmore on Friday and Saturday, March 29 and 30, before taking on Clarkson on Tuesday, April 2.

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